


Running into Karen Page

by LittleDidTheyKnow



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, the fluffiest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-04
Updated: 2017-11-13
Packaged: 2019-01-08 21:52:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12262788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleDidTheyKnow/pseuds/LittleDidTheyKnow
Summary: Karen Page just moved to New York. Matt Murdock just started donning a black mask to protect Hell's Kitchen.For someone who's new to the city, she sure does run into one person quite a bit. She's starting to think she's lucky.





	1. On her Roof

**Author's Note:**

> This one is short and sweet, so I'll post a lot faster than normal. 
> 
> Just some Karedevil fluff for those of you who need it.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karen Page just moved to New York. She's broke, her apartment is basically empty, and she is down to her last glass of wine.
> 
> She decides to savor her beverage while getting a breath of fresh air on the roof of her apartment.
> 
> Too bad she didn't plan for a flying black pajama-wearing ninja to run into her.

Matt Murdock needed to work out more.

He came to this realization as he jumped from roof to roof in pursuit of a man who had just robbed a popular Italian restaurant.

He was working for a large law firm with his best friend and they were being paid for the first time in their careers. That meant that after a 12 hour day, you could find him and Foggy Nelson at a bar trying to relax before starting the process all over again. He didn't notice before, but now he could really feel the effect that two to three beers a night for the last several months had on him.  
  
He almost had a hold of the robber as he barreled into pedestrians on the sidewalk, and had decided it was faster to find him his own way. The man didn't seem to mind hitting people and knocking them over, but the Man in Black did. He also didn’t need to be seen, after all, the only people who knew that he existed at this point were the ones he had saved or the ones he had caught. He didn't need to draw anymore attention to himself if he could help it.   
  
Matt caught his breath as he jumped from one roof to another, and prepared himself to run over a larger gap. He started into a run when he heard the door open on the other side. He almost stopped himself, but he had too much momentum. So much momentum that he took her down the moment he landed.  
  
Karen Page opened her eyes and coughed after the wind was knocked out of her. She was in her nightgown and boxers, the cup of wine that was in her hand had ended up somewhere on the other side of the roof. She wondered what she did to deserve being tackled by the masked man who was still on top of her. He was breathing heavily as he did his best to lift himself up quickly.    
  
She blinked once more and clasped the hand that reached out to her and pulled her off the ground with ease. She couldn't stop coughing and had to hunch over as she tried to catch her breath. He rubbed her back as he tilted his head in the air like he was listening for something.   
  
“I’m so sorry. Are you alright?” He said quickly like he was trying hard not to brush her off but clearly had somewhere to be.  
  
“I’m fine.” She said, connecting the dots. “Go back to what you were doing.”  
  
He looked at her, puzzled. She wasn’t angry or confused over the fact that he ran into her, and who would assume he had somewhere important to be?  
  
He walked to the edge and searched for the culprit, finding him a few blocks away. He made the decision to continue his pursuit until he smelled the blood.   
  
She noticed his hesitance. “Seriously, I’m ok. You don’t have to worry about me."   
  
He turned back toward her and she heard him removing the velcro from one of his gloves as he walked over, slipping it into his pocket.  
  
“You are not ok.” He said reaching out to her neck with his ungloved hand. He felt along her skin and found the blood, pulling his hand away and showing her. She looked up into his mask and saw nothing, so she fixated on his lips. “You aren’t nervous about the man who just slammed into you on your roof. Why is that?”  
  
“Because I know who you are.”  
  
He looked startled. Then he heard the blood dripping down her back. “We need to see to this. Do you have a first aid kit?”  
  
“Sure, in my apartment.” She turned away from him and he followed her downstairs. She unlocked her door and he entered an empty apartment with just a few boxes.  
  
“You just move in?”  
  
“A month ago.” She said, embarrassed. She had a bed and some dishes and not much more. “I may not have furniture, but I do have a first aid kit.”  
  
“And a sewing kit by chance?”  
  
“Umm.. yeah. Let me see if I can find it.”  
  
He walked into her kitchen and found zip locks sitting next to a jar of peanut butter and a bag of bread. He opened the freezer and found an ice tray next to a bottle of vodka and nothing else. He pulled out the bottle and filled a bag with half of the ice.  
  
She came back and found him in her unlit kitchen. She sat on her small kitchen island and he wet a clean dish towel, wiping away the blood. She lifted her hair up and he placed the ice pack against her right shoulder.

"Oooh" she jumped up in surprise.  
  
“Sorry, I should have warned you.” He said, showing her the ice pack and moving it to the elbow that rested on her thigh. “You’re going to thank me for this later. If you can look past the fact that I’m the reason you need to ice yourself to begin with.”  
  
“So I’m going to see you again?” She said, ignoring the fact that he somehow knew the places that hurt the most without even turning on a light.  
  
“Well…” He said awkwardly.  
  
“I’m just kidding, I know I won’t.” She said with a chuckle that she hoped would hide the sad note in her voice.  
  
“So you were saying you knew who I was?” He asked as he wiped the blood from her neck down to her back and beneath the top of her nightgown, giving her goosebumps.  
  
“You helped a woman in my building. She was attacked by two men who were after her purse.”  
  
“Oh.”  
  
“She kept raving about the ‘Man in Black,’ like you were her personal savior. She’s not the only person who has a good opinion about you.”  
  
“Now you can be the one person with a _bad_ story,” he said laughing.  
  
“I’ll be sure to tell them that you run into unsuspecting women on roofs and spill the last of their wine.”  
  
“I knew there wasn’t just admiration coming from you, Ms…”  
  
“Page. Karen Page.”  
  
“Ms. Page.”  
  
“Well, it would all be fine if it weren’t for the wine.” She said with a smile in her voice. “And what should I call _you_?”  
  
He thought about another name for her to call him as he cleaned up her cut and she cringed. “Matt.”  
  
He turned away quickly as he said it, going to the sink and grabbing two glasses from the drying rack. He walked back over and grabbed the bottle of vodka, pouring two fingers into two separate glasses and handing her one as he took a drink.  
  
“That's your real name, isn't it?” She said smiling.

He laughed. “It didn't feel right to lie to you.” He smiled and she couldn’t help but think about how charming he was. “I guess I don’t have this whole hidden identity thing down yet.”  
  
“Well, I like knowing who is patching me up.” She downed her glass and lifted her hair, knowing what was coming.  
  
He disinfected the needle before threading it and she realized he was still wearing his mask. “Don’t you think you’ll do a better job with your full vision? And maybe some light?” She said nervously.  
  
“I’ll be alright.” he chuckled. He placed his other hand on her neck and she took a breath waiting for him to pierce her skin with the needle. She cringed again, but he went quickly and wiped her skin as he was finished. He walked around the counter and stood between her dangling legs and started to wipe the dirt from her scratched arms.  
  
“I can't believe I ran into you like that. You are my first casualty that didn’t deserve it.”  
  
“It does make it harder to believe that you are as graceful as they say.”  
  
"Graceful?"  
  
"If I remember right, Mrs. Ramirez called you a 'graceful ninja.' That's my best translation from Spanish."  
  
"Graceful ninja," he said laughing. "To be fair, you did come out of nowhere.”  
  
She laughed “ _I_ came out of nowhere?”  
  
“The more I try, the deeper the hole I dig.” He had stopped cleaning her arms and was holding her hand in his.  
  
She smiled at him. “That’s because you are blaming the victim.”  
  
He tilted his head down lowered her hand. “I’m trying to save my reputation, Karen Page. Who knows how far your reach extends in this city? I could have just ruined my good hidden name.” She moved the dangling part of his mask behind his head and dusted off his shoulder. 

“Your secret reputation is safe with me.”


	2. In the Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karen gets a winter surprise during her first snowfall in New York.

Karen Page didn’t see or hear about the Man in Black for a few weeks. The only indication that her night had in fact happened were the stitches on her back, and the bottle of Riesling she found on her roof two days later, tied with a black bow and a quickly written note that simply said, “Here's hoping your negative experience can now be considered a positive one." 

She was sad that she had missed him, but couldn't help but smile at her note and be amazed that he had gotten her the same kind of wine she had been drinking, only this one was definitely nicer than her $6 bottle. It made it more difficult for her to write off her night as a one-time event. The Man in Black had been her first friend in New York.

Karen kept working at Union Allied, and kept scrimping and saving to be able to buy some furniture for her new place. She still didn’t feel like she lived here, and that made living away from home that much more difficult. She told herself that furnishing her living space would make a big difference, but she was a ways off from even getting a couch off of Craigslist.

Before she left for work that morning, she had looked at a calendar and saw that it'd been exactly two months since she moved in. Each day was a new landmark for her and it only reinforced the idea that she could do this. The last days of warm Fall had ended, and now she was living in a colder, but still beautiful New York. She bought a second comforter from a discount store on her way home from work, knowing she would be using it after shivering the night before.

Karen was happy at her forethought as she exited the store and saw snowflakes. When she got home, she made herself some hot chocolate and poured it into a thermos, grabbing the comforter and heading to the roof. She nearly dropped it as she opened the door and saw him standing there with a smile on his face.

“Are you stalking me, Ms. Page?”

She smiled. “You seem to get confused whenever you are around me,” She said, laughing. “This is my roof, remember?”

“All rooftops belong to the Man in Black when he is dealing vigilante justice.” He said in his most dramatic voice.

“Really?” She said laughing.

“No.” He laughed. “You want me to hop over to that roof across the way so you are free to drink your hot chocolate in peace?”

She smiled at the fact that he somehow knew what was in her thermos. "Only if you're certain that you won't knock me on my ass again without warning."

"I can't make any promises."

“Then it's probably for the best that you stay over here so that I can keep an eye on you.”

“There is no winning with you, Karen Page.” He flashed her a smile and she got her first real look of the vigilante who showed up on her dreams most nights. His clothes were tighter than she remembered and she bit her lip when she got a look at the back of him as he walked to the edge of the roof. She looked away quickly as she met him by the brick wall and looked over the city to distract herself.

“You did pretty well with my replacement bottle of wine,” she said as she saw him shiver and stepped closer to him as he listened to the city.

She opened the thermos and took a sip, handing it over to him. He smiled as the warm chocolate filled him with warmth. “So much for my promise that you wouldn’t see me again. What are you doing up on your roof on such a cold night, Karen?”

“It's my first time in New York snow," she said reaching out and catching a snowflake before it hit the wall. “And what are you doing out in that tight thing? You're going to freeze to death.”

“It’s better than running in a parka.” He said laughing as she wrapped the comforter around his shoulders. He stepped closer to her and felt her heart rate increase.

“And what are we looking for?” She asked, trying not to think about how close he was to her yet again. He smelled amazing, and she couldn't quite put her finger on the scent. How could a man who had clearly been exerting himself a few minutes ago still smell so good?

“There have been three convenience store robberies on each corner of your block.” He said pointing toward each of them even though they weren’t all visible. “So I was wondering-”

“Why my block needs so many convenience stores?”

He laughed. “No, I was wondering if the last one was going to see some action tonight.”

He handed her the cocoa and she took a drink and sighed happily. “I figured you were back here to see me again.” She said trying to pass her comment off as coolly as possible.

He turned toward her and cupped her cheek with his gloved hand “Not every night can be as delightful as the ones I spend with you.” He said. “Sometimes I have to do my job.”

She blushed. “You could come back here again, you kno-”

He looked up and she heard yelling. He handed her the thermos and she opened her comforter to let him out.

“Thanks for the warmth and the cocoa.” He said as he ran toward the fire escape.

She walked over to the fire escape to see him in action, but in the few seconds it took her to get there, he was gone. 


	3. In Pursuit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karen goes for a run and smiles as she sees her vigilante run right past her. 
> 
> He's a little busy. This time he's being chased by the police.

It was too beautiful a day to pass up an opportunity to get outside. 

The snow hadn't lasted more than a couple of days, but it was followed by two solid weeks of rain. Karen's apartment was starting to depress her these days anyway. She was no closer to furnishing it and she spent most nights on her bed reading or re-planning her life once she had enough money to have one. 

But today was perfect and she wasn't about to squander the opportunity, so she decided to go for a run. She grabbed her warmest pair of yoga pants and zipped her thin jacket over a long sleeved shirt, knowing it was probably a little less than she should be wearing, but she told herself it could be a quick run if it needed to be.

She grabbed her pepper spray and a water bottle. Every time she went outside, her grandmother's words rang in her ears. “We mustn't kid ourselves. The world isn't fair and the only person you can rely on is yourself.” This was coming from the woman who jammed a fork into the thigh of a man who got too handsy on a date in 1952, so she knew it was good advice. It was going to be dark soon, so she blew a kiss above to grandma in heaven and promised that she'd make her run short.

Karen ran several blocks away and smiled. There weren’t a lot of people and she didn’t have to stop for anything other than red lights. She stopped about 10 feet from the end of the block and drank from her water bottle as the sound of sirens got closer. She thought about going a different direction to avoid getting turned away from a crime scene or car accident, but she didn’t get the chance.

Because she saw the Man in Black running toward her. She stepped into a window alcove in order to get out of his way since he was clearly running from something. He passed her without noticing and she closed her water bottle and prepared to continue.

Then she heard a familiar voice.

“Hello, gorgeous.”

She turned around and saw him leaning against the window to catch his breath.

“You've seen me in the dark so many times, I thought you didn’t recognize me,” she said with a chuckle.

He started to breathe normally and sighed in relief at the lack of police. “Only for a second.”

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?" she cupped her face to whisper in his direction. "So you don’t get caught?” She smiled and flipped the lid to her water bottle before handing it to him.

“I’m pretty sure I lost them.” He took a drink as the sirens faded away. She was beginning to notice his abilities went above and beyond anyone she'd ever known, and it was both jarring and intriguing.

“So, why were they chasing you?” She asked and he could hear the happy note to her voice.

He shivered as he breathed in the cool air which was amplified by his wet throat. “They don’t seem to like me for some reason…” he shook his head like the answer was completely above his paygrade.

“I don’t know how that could be,” she said. She noticed the sweat dripping down his chisled jaw and fought the urge to wipe it away. He handed her the water bottle as he tilted his head to listen to something she couldn't hear herself.

“Damn, I spoke too soon.”

“What?” Karen said, but she recognized the sound of feet hitting the pavement quickly as they got closer. “Stay here.” She jogged 10 feet up the block before running into a policeman who was turning the corner.

Her water bottle flew out of her hand and she bounced off the building next to her.

The officer sighed and let his body mold against the ground before looking up at her and shifting so he looked a little less pathetic. 

“I’m so sorry, ma’am, I--”

She faked being out of breath and gave him a hand up.

“You know, there’s a pretty popular phrase amongst runners,” she said as he picked up her water bottle and handed it to her. “It’s called ‘corner.’”

He chuckled as she flipped the cap and took a drink. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say that. But I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Maybe I’m mixing it up with restaurant employees..." She smiled at him and tried to continue the conversation to distract him from his task. "Can I ask why you were you in such a hurry, Officer?”

“Well, Ms.-”

“Page.”

“Ms. Page. I was chasing after a dangerous man. Did you happen to see anyone? He was wearing all black and has a mask that covers his eyes.”

“Well, I did, but he ran by quite a while ago, Officer-” She looked at his name badge. “Davis.” She thought she heard a stifled chuckle from his alcove, but she wasn’t sure.

The officer took it personally and tried his best to defend himself. “Well, he’s pretty fast, Ms. Page.”

“Oh, I meant no disrespect, officer." She patted his shoulder and tried her best to ask for his forgiveness, realizing that she was never very good at that concept. "I just mean I think he’s long gone by now.”

Officer Davis sighed. “Oh well. How about I buy you a cup of coffee as an apology for-” the radio on his shoulder went off and he answered the call. Karen looked over his shoulder carefully as he spoke to the operator, and he smiled back at her before the woman responded. 

“Suspect was seen talking with a woman on west 46th street.”

His face went from flirty to puzzled. “Were you talking with our Man in Black, Ms. Page?”

“He ran near me, but we weren’t together, Officer. Maybe they’re talking about another person.”

The walkie went off again. “Blonde hair, dressed in black.”

She shrugged her shoulders and took another drink from her water bottle. “If, by 'talking,' they meant that I yelled at him as he almost ran into me, then yes, we had a really short, but deep conversation.”

Officer Davis looked behind him and back to her. “These calls are often just lookie-loos who want a reason to call something in,” he said. “But you should keep your distance if you ever see him again. Yelling at him could have gotten you killed, Ms. Page.”

“Oh my God, you think?” She said with a fake fear to her voice that Matt could definitely recognize. “What did this 'Man in Black' do?”

“I’m afraid he just beat a man to a pulp and tied him to a gate.”

Karen lifted her hand to her mouth. “Oh my goodness, that’s terrible. Was it a mugging?”

Office Davis sighed. “Well, witnesses say the man he tied up attacked an 80-year-old gentleman, but-”

“Oh, well then it sounds like the person who _did that_ is the one who is dangerous.”

The officer wasn’t amused. “We don’t appreciate men who take the law into their own hands, Ms. Page.”

“Oh, of course not." She touched his shoulder and he smiled. "Not when there are men like you to protect us”

He went from annoyed to almost businesslike. “We know nothing of his motives, and he wears a mask, ma’am. I wouldn't recommend associating with men like that.”

“Sure,” she nodded. 

“You probably shouldn't be out this late by yourself, Ms. Page. I could walk you home if you like-"

She rolled her eyes and he definitely noticed, glaring at her as she spoke her next sentence through gritted teeth. “I thought you had a problem with me being _with_ someone, Officer Davis.” 

“I’m just saying that walking these dark city streets could get you killed.”

“Well, I wasn't _walking_ , I was running. But I was interrupted.” There was an anger in her voice and the officer could tell he had struck a nerve.

The radio went off again, telling him that two men dressed in all black had been spotted on two different blocks nearby. Davis asked if either of them had a mask on and the person on the radio told him no.

“Sounds like dressing in all black is pretty common,” she said as she pointed to her own clothes. It annoyed him even more.

“Well, I better be going,” he said as he turned the other direction. “Sorry for hitting you, Ms. Page.”

“Don’t worry about it.” She said with her fakest smile and a wave. He turned back in the direction he came and she sighed angrily. She turned around and ran in the direction she had come from and saw that Matt was gone. Her hope was that he'd use the opportunity to get away and he had done exactly that. But it made her a little sad.

She ran halfway up the block and stopped quickly as he dropped down from a restaurant awning in front of her. 

"You know it's not safe being out this late, Ms. Page. Hasn't anyone told you that women are to remain indoors after dusk?"

"How in the hell did you-" she laughed and shook her head. "Thanks for the tip, but I've already been informed. Apparently, there's some lunatic running around in a mask."

He chuckled and without a warning his face became deadpan and he tilted his head down sternly. "They say that once these vigilantes beat up their first mugger, they move right on to sarcastic blonde runners, Ms. Page."

Karen chuckled. "That is oddly specific." 

He smiled again. "You can never be too-" he paused. "Son of a-" 

"See you later, _Daredevil."_ She chuckled.

"I kind of like that," he said with a wave.

He took off in a run and Karen jogged slowly after him, hearing the sirens as he disappeared around the block. 


	4. Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karen finds her vigilante after he's collapsed on her roof.

Karen Page was positive there was a hole in her roof after hearing him crash up above her.

She looked up as some plaster fell through the air in her living room and left a thin layer of dust on her small nightstand. She abandoned her laptop and ran upstairs to see what large object had fallen on top of her building and saw a pile of man lying in the same place he’d collided with her a month before.

For a moment, Karen thought he was dead. She stood frozen long enough for her eyes to fill with tears as she prepared for the worst. Then he lifted himself slightly to cough, nearly losing his scarf-mask as he used one hand to hold his chest and the other to cling to the ground to steady himself. She ran to him and dropped to her knees.

“Matt,” she whispered. “What’s wrong. Where are you hurt?”  
  
He tried to speak, but keeping his head up took real effort, so he settled on pathetically leaning against her shoulder. She wrapped an arm around him and pet the back of his head as his quick breaths took all of the energy he had left.

Matt calmed down and started to doze in the minute she sat with him, prompting her to get his attention and convince him to stand. She put his arm over her shoulder and walked him downstairs, careful to make sure there was no one in her hallway before rushing him into her apartment.  
  
Matt’s shirt stuck to his skin as Karen lifted it to see if he had any wounds. He didn’t move as she continued over the rest of his body, and found nothing. She said his name several times, not noticing that he had dozed off in the span of less than a minute. She was about to lift his mask but touched his face instead, and he grabbed her hand, coming to and smiling at her.

“Hi, beautiful.”  
  
She sighed happily. “Matt, honey, can you tell me what happened to you?”  
  
“Nothing, beautiful. You don’t need to worry about me.” He reached up to her face. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”  
  
She shook her head in confusion. “Hurt me? What are you talking about?”  
  
“I’ll never do it again. I promise.”  
  
She was convinced that he didn't know who he was talking to. “Matt, you seem delirious. Are you sick?”  
  
“I’m fine, Karen. I just need to get back out there and find…”

“Find who?”

“I don’t remember.” He said, looking like he was going to fall asleep.

“Matt, I don’t think you should go anywhere. I’m going to get a thermometer. Please just stay here. Can you do that?"

“I can, Karen. I’d do anything for you.”  
  
He slumped backward and she smiled sadly at the fact that his walls had been lowered. She took his temperature and found that it was 102.9. “Matt, you have a fever. Do you think you have the flu?”  
  
He sighed. “Probably. Damn Foggy. I told him to go home.”  
  
“Foggy? Matt, you aren’t making any sense.”  
  
He tipped his head down and spoke seriously. “Foggy Nelson esquire.”   
  
“Okay, Matt," she decided to go with it. "You are covered in sweat and dirt. I think a lukewarm shower is what you need right now.”  
  
“Trying to get me to take my clothes off, Miss Page?”  
  
“Well, at least you still have your charm.” She walked him to her bathroom and he sat on the toilet. She laughed as she saw her Man in Black sitting on a fluffy purple toilet cover.  
  
“What?” He said as she got some cold medicine and made him take it.  
  
“You look so pathetic.” She caressed his chin as he swallowed down the pills. “I don’t think you’re going to make it back to your apartment or bat cave, or wherever it is that you sleep.”  
  
He leaned against her hand and she felt her heart skip a beat. She didn't understand how one man could be so adorable when you could only see the lower half of his face. Karen decided he could probably use some privacy, and walked over to the shower to get the water the right temperature. She turned around and gasped, almost running into him. 

“Are you afraid of the _Man in Black_ , Miss Page?” He grinned from ear to ear.  
  
“No, I… I’ll leave you alone to clean up." 

“Wait, Karen…” He said as she turned to leave. She noticed how serious he looked, and for some reason, it scared her. She didn't know what he could possibly say that could have her this nervous, but her biggest worry was that it would be that he couldn't see her again. And since he was about to take a shower in her apartment, that was highly unlikely.  
  
“What is it, Matt?”  
  
He tilted his head down on her shoulder and brought her hands to where his scarf tied around his eyes. She opened her mouth in surprise. “Are you sure you want me to--”  
  
He nodded against her. “Yes.”  
  
She untied it and pulled it away from him and he lifted his face slowly. He didn’t make direct eye contact, but she ignored that fact and stared at the handsome man smiling before her. She held the scarf in her hands and backed away from him as he lifted his shirt up and revealed a torso the likes of which she had only seen on TV.  
  
“Thank you,” she heard him say as she forced herself to walk away and close the door.

Karen made him some tea and brought it over to her one night stand, trying to calm herself. That man was naked in her apartment. Naked and sick. And all she wanted to do was hop in the shower with him and see the water drip over his abs. She shook the thoughts away and waited for him to finish.

“Karen?” She heard coming from her bathroom. He wasn’t going to make this easy on her.  
  
She walked over to the door and opened it a crack so she could hear him. “Yes, Matt?”  
  
“Do you happen to have a towel?”  
  
She laughed, “I’m so sorry. I’ll be right back.” She found a clean one in a basket of laundry and walked inside the bathroom, handing it through the shower door. She felt his wet hand grabbing it from hers and trembled.  
  
“Thanks,” he said, and she saw him wrap it around himself through the tempered glass. He stepped out and she bit her lip, hoping he didn’t notice. He started coughing again and she figured he was more focused on feeling sick than noticing her undressing him with her eyes. She left and let him finish getting dressed.  
  
He walked out with just his boxers on and his clothes in his hand. “I’m sorry, but these are pretty gross.”   
  
She took them from him and put them on top of her dirty laundry. “I can wash them tomorrow morning…" She dug through her clean laundry basket and found sweats and the largest t-shirt she had. "I think this might fit you," she said. "But the sweats might not-"

"The t-shirt is fine. I'm ok in just these if you are comfortable with that. I think I'm too hot-" 

All she could say was "yeah." and it filled her with guilt for staring at the pathetic man who wouldn't normally even be in her apartment if he weren't so sick. He blinked his eyes like he was drifting again. "I think you should try to sleep. And I made some tea.”

She lifted her covers and sat on top of the comforter as he climbed in a took a grateful sip. She noticed he didn’t seem to use his eyes, and a million questions ran through her mind, but she knew that now wasn’t the time. He placed the tea on her nightstand after a minute and leaned onto the pillow. She brushed her teeth and washed her face and came back to find him spread over the entire bed. She chuckled, knowing it wasn’t right to sleep with him in this state anyway. He might not even remember how he ended up here in the morning.  
  
She felt his forehead again and he seemed to be a little less warm before grabbing her pillow and second comforter. The small bed she made on the floor was not going to be comfortable, but she'd still be able to hear him if he needed her. 

****

Matt woke up a few hours later, taking in his surroundings while he experienced another coughing fit. It was still night, and he was laying in a bed that smelled wonderful. He remembered that he was in Karen’s apartment, but she wasn’t next to him. He sat up and found her, shaking on the floor in a pile of comforter. He picked her up and carried her over to the bed, placing her under the blankets. She wouldn’t let go of his arm, and he climbed in next to her, laying his head on the same pillow and falling asleep to the smell of her hair.

*****

Karen yawned and looked up at Matt's peaceful grin. She didn’t know when he did it, but she was laying in his arms. Her left arm was bent and wrapped in his hand as it rested on his chest. Her other arm was wrapped around his side. She pulled one arm away and felt his forehead, which was less hot than before.   
  
He squeezed her hand and smiled without opening his eyes. “Hello, beautiful,” he said. She couldn't tell if he was delirious again, or if he even knew who he was with.  
  
“Do you know where you are?”  
  
“Of course, I’m with you,” he smiled and she tilted her forehead against his. He was still making things difficult for her.    
  
“Matt I think you still may be a little delirious”  
  
“What, am I _not_ with you? Am I back in my _bat cave_ - I mean, apartment?” he said trying to jokingly conceal his identity.  
  
She sat up and shook her head. “I don't think you're sick anymore. I’ve been told that anyone this sarcastic can take care of themselves." 

He giggled as she went to get her thermometer and checked his temperature again. “100 on the dot.” She handed him some more cold medicine and he took it with the cold tea from the night before. 

“Thank you for last night, Karen.”

“I’m just glad you’re alright, Matt. I really thought…” She couldn’t say it. And that was when she realized how much she cared for a man she knew so little about. “How in the hell did you end up at my apartment anyway?”

“I was a couple of blocks away when I realized that I had no business going out. Work’s been hell this week and I missed a few nights." He sighed as she opened her mouth to speak, answering her question before she could ask it. "A woman died last night after being mugged.”

He looked down and she rubbed his hand. “You can’t save them all, Matt.”

He nodded. “I know.”

“You especially can’t save them all if you have pneumonia or you’re dead.”

He sniffled and she saw again that he didn’t make direct eye contact. “Noted.”

“We need to put my phone number in your phone on the off chance this happens again, Matt.”

“Wow, Page, are you hitting on a sick man?”

“You _would_ be standoffish after _sleeping_ with a woman, _Man in Black_.” She chuckled. “But having one woman’s phone number damages your street cred with the ladies, I’ll just wait for the next time you decide to cause a commotion on my roof.”

He smiled. “Unfortunately the whole ‘secret identity’ thing makes it difficult to get dates.”

“I figured. But do you really have no one, Matt? I mean, do you have someone to help you? Someone you care about who knows?”

“I wouldn’t call you ‘no one’”

Her lip quivered at the fact that he'd just admitted that he cared about her whether he was joking or not.

He wasn’t.


	5. On a Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt Murdock realizes he has feelings for Karen Page and he runs into her when she's on a date with another man.

That heartbeat.

It lured him to sleep some nights even though he was too far away to hear it. He knew it was all in his head, but he didn't care. The takeaway was that he was enraptured by a woman he’d only met a few times, and he couldn’t help but think about her.

That heartbeat was like music to his ears. 

The last time he left her had been the most difficult. He had her phone number now, but he didn't feel right using it for a non-emergency. He also didn't know how to navigate the waters of potentially dating someone who knew about his nighttime activities. So that morning he made it easy. He left a few minutes after they both woke up and walked home in dirty black clothing with no mask.

And no conversation about his blindness. He knew she had an idea though. 

So when he heard her heartbeat coming from a restaurant on the second floor of a building a block away from the roof he was standing on, he couldn’t help but laugh. He tried not to listen to the conversation between Karen and her “date,” but this was one of his flawed moments that proved he was not without sin. He waited for her velvety voice, but he cringed as the man rambled on. Matt wanted to get her attention somehow, even though he knew it wasn't his place to do so. But it was like Karen Page could read his mind. She cut her date off and made an excuse to leave the table. Matt couldn't believe his luck as she stepped onto a balcony that wouldn’t be used until the months turned warmer.

He made his quietest landing yet and found her looking over the edge of the balcony with an annoyed sigh.

“What’s your plan here, Ms. Page?” he barely recognized his own voice as he spoke in an almost dignified, dare he say, superhero-like manner.

She ran her fingers over the ivy that covered the side of the building and nodded her head without even looking at the man behind her.

“Well, if I hang off the edge of this balcony and shimmy down this ivy, it might hold.”

He chuckled. “That’s highly unlikely.”

She had a mock-glare on her face as she turned around crossed her arms. “You have any better ideas?”

“I'm just spit-balling here, but, you could just go tell your date he is incredibly boring.”

Her eyes narrowed as she chuckled at the man who seemed to know everything. “I think that if he hasn’t figured it out from all the yawning, he never will.”

“You might be right. He’s talking to your server, and he hasn’t even noticed that she’s practically bouncing as she’s humoring him. Pretty sure the poor girl was on her way to the bathroom.”

She didn’t even ask him how had that information with his back turned to the restaurant, and he knew that this incredibly intelligent woman was putting the pieces together with each of their interactions.

“Well, I hate to abandon her, but she's going to have to graciously take one for the team. This is my only chance to get away.” Karen felt less like a terrible person since their server had avoided their table for the ten minutes she had been there, which meant she didn’t have a drop of alcohol to take comfort in as the man droned on. She was pretty sure this was a well-sent punishment from the woman, who probably had to deal with him while he waited for his late date. They were both playing with fire now.

“I think she would probably disagree with your plan.”

“If she knew that I didn’t have much of a choice in this matter, she’d understand. We’ve all been pressured into blind dates before.”

Matt chuckled at the thought that all of his dates had been “blind,” but Karen didn’t notice. She was trying to figure out plan B.

“You know, Karen, there is another way.”

She lit up at the possibility that he could have a better way out. “Have you been holding out on me? What is it, Matt?”

“It won’t make you look good.”

She tilted her head. He’d definitely caught her interest. “I’m listening.”

He took off his gloves and slipped them into his front pocket, his black mask came next. She almost didn’t hear the words that came from his mouth as he stepped closer and she looked into his eyes. “It would seem that your date is ‘worried’ about you. He’s already had someone check the bathroom for him and he’s heading this way.”

“Uh-huh…” she said as he put his hands around her waist.

“And I’m pretty sure he’d consider the date _over_ if he saw the beautiful woman he thought he was seducing on a balcony kissing another, _much_ _more_ handsome man.”

She took a breath as he closed the gap between them and placed his hand on the side of her face. He felt her smile just before her breath hitched and he took that as a sign that she was content with the plan. And just like that, he was kissing her.

She’d imagined this moment for months now. His soft lips against hers, the taste of his tongue, how she felt when her body was pressed against his. This was somehow better. She melted against him as she tasted his skin, which she assumed was somewhat salty from jumping down to her. She felt his heartbeat beneath her fingers and the sound of his breath as he came back up for air and detached himself from her lips.

“Did it work?” he asked her, but she knew he already had the answer.

“Y-yeah. He’s walking away now. Way to think on your feet.”

“That’s just a friendly service I’m willing to provide to you and only you, Ms. Page.” His voice was filled with something more than its usual sarcasm, and his confidence made her have to work to hold back the giggle that tried to rise in her throat.

He rubbed his finger over her jaw as she rubbed the back of his neck. He listened to her slow breaths and the way she trembled as his hand moved up and down her back.

“Matt…” she bit her lip as he moved his face closer to hers once more.

“Karen?” He pushed a strand of her hair behind her hear and whispered, which was a much more frustrating move considering she wanted him to kiss her again. She decided to take things into her own hands and kissed him, which caught him off guard.

“How do you feel about-” she kissed him again. “-going to my apartment?” She let the last kiss last longer and then pulled away. Her stomach instantly turned at the idea of waiting for an answer after putting herself out there, but he was quick and much less reserved than usual. 

“My place is closer.”

She smiled as he whispered cross-streets into her ear before kissing her once more and and putting the mask back on. He leapt off the roof and she rushed through the restaurant and back to her table. She grabbed her jacket and left a ten dollar bill on the table for their poor server, thankful that she hadn’t ordered food yet. Then she took the stairs quickly and made her way up the block.

She knew Matt was above her somewhere, and it made it that much worse. This time she knew where she’d be seeing him again, she told herself. Just five blocks and she’d be able to look into those beautiful eyes a second time and kiss those lips. That was important.

The streets were crowded on this Friday night, and she was practically jumping up and down as she stood on the corner as she waited for the light to change. But she quickly forgot what she was so excited about as she saw a little girl in a sagging jacket silently wiping a tear from her eye.

She followed the little girl's blood-stained hand to the arm of the man she was holding on to.

Karen moved forward and looked down to try to catch the girl's eye, doing so immediately. She couldn’t have been more than nine years old. She looked scared out of her mind as Karen tried to ask her if she was okay with her eyes and she shook her head quickly. Then the light changed and the man yanked her arm so that she’d start walking. Karen walked ahead of them and disappeared into the crowd, turning around when she was about twenty feet away and walking toward them.

“Hey beautiful!” she said, dropping to her knees as she reached them and opening her arms. The crowd moved around them and disappeared.

The little girl opened her arms and the man had to let go of her as they hugged. She whispered “Violet” into Karen’s ear.

“I’ve missed you so much, Violet! And who is this?”

The man was glaring at her but quickly smiled before he thought she’d noticed.

"I’m her father. How do you know Violet?” He said in his best attempt to feign caring. She could tell he didn’t really care, but she knew she should try to talk for as long as she could.

“Oh, we’re old friends. She and my niece Mia met at the park over a year ago.” She tried not to divulge too much information. If this man really was her father, he knew what school she went to, so she kept it simple.

Violet held onto Karen, who ran her hand over her hair.

“That's great, but we need to be going,” the man said quickly.

“Really?" Karen protested. "Can I buy you two some ice cream or something? It’s been a good month since I’ve seen this adorable ball of fun.”

“ _Really_.” He said angrily. “Violet!”

He reached his hand out, but Violet shook as she reluctantly moved back toward him.

“Wait, Violet,” Karen said. She pulled her arm gently so that she stood behind her. “Your daughter is clearly scared. So how about we find someone who can help her to feel safe. There’s a police station a block away.”

The man grabbed Karen's arm and squeezed as he spoke softly, but sternly. "Let go of her now or you will regret it—"

“No.” Karen spat. "There is no chance in hell I'm letting you take her anywhere with you." She glared at him and he became incensed. Then saw a hand grip his shoulder as he turned to the man who spoke behind him.

“Let her go. Now."

The man didn't listen, turning toward Matt and seeing the crowd that was starting to form as the vigilante drew attention to them.

“This woman grabbed my child. You should be apprehending _her..._ whoever the hell you are.”

“Your daughter is bleeding.” The man sighed angrily as the Man in Black continued. “Why don’t we get this girl to the hospital, and we can sort everything out there.”

The man yanked on Karen's arm and she nearly lost her balance. That was enough for Matt to slam him against a wall and for Karen to get away. She grabbed Violet’s arm and moved into a coffee shop, pulling the doors closed as Violet moved quickly behind her.

"It's going to be alright, honey. That man is going to help us." Karen gasped as she saw Matt take a punch to the jaw and tightened her grip on the door handles.

"He wants _this_." Violet said as she pulled her jacket off and severlasting wads of hundred dollar bills fell to the floor. Karen looked down and shook her head.

"Violet, run to the back of the store. I can take care of this—"

Violet shook her head and held onto Karen's leg. "Please don’t. Please don’t leave me," she sobbed. 

Karen felt her eyes well with tears. "I won't honey." The coffee shop was small and there was nowhere for the two of them to run. She could hear the commotion outside along with police sirens as she saw Matt being shoved back onto a patio table.

"I won't leave you Violet, but you need to go behind the counter. Please, someone!" She shouted to no one in particular. She heard a chair screech on the floor and looked back at the glass door, gasping as the man ran at her. Karen saw the fury in the man's eyes as he tried to yank the door open, praying that it’d be enough. She looked behind her as Violet screamed at someone who was taking her away. She saw the fear in the little girl’s face, before she heard a loud blast and fell backward.

Then everything went black.


	6. In the Hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karen Page wakes up in the hospital after saving a little girl.

Karen Page hated the smell of hospitals.

Every time she walked down their speckless hallways she could smell the disinfectant mixed with that cafeteria food scent that she hated from grade school. And every time she was within those white walls, she went rigid. She had been surrounded by death her entire life, and the last time she was in a hospital, she told herself she would never go back if she had a choice. 

The smell was the first indication that she was in one of her least favorite places. She blinked drowsily and heard the machines beeping next to her and felt the IV in her arm. That was enough for her to tense up as she tried to remember what happened.

“Well hello, sleepyhead!” came a cheery voice. She moved her head slightly and saw a woman in purple scrubs with a calming smile on her face.

Karen opened her mouth, but her throat was incredibly dry. She licked her lips and tried to speak, but the woman cut her off, and she was grateful.

“You’ve been through quite a lot, love. You got out of surgery a few hours ago and everything went well. The doctor will tell you all about that as soon as she’s free.” She sat in the chair next to Karen’s bed and rubbed her hand gently as she continued. “There’s a little girl down the hall who has asked about you ever since she arrived--”

Karen heard her screams in her head and cringed. “Violet-- is she ok?” she sputtered.

“She’s fine, sweetheart, don’t worry! Nothing happened to her.”

“Then why is she here?” Karen asked quickly. She wondered if it was the drugs that were making her this confused.

“She’s down the hall with her momma. You are the reason the police found her -- just in time, I might add.”

“Thank goodness,” Karen said, without taking in much of the new information. “Poor baby.” she closed her eyes once more and shook her head awake.

“You’ll be back to your normal self soon honey. Violet’s mother was shot a few minutes before you found them- her husband is in police custody now, but that little girl saw the whole thing. The mother woke up an hour ago and she wants to thank you when you're feeling better.”

“It was nothing,” Karen said without thinking. She shifted and her entire arm felt like it was on fire.

“Oh, it was definitely something. You are a hero, honey.” Karen smiled at the woman. “You and the man in the mask that Violet told me about. She called you two her guardian angels.”

Karen chuckled. Then she remembered where she had been headed before everything went to hell.

“Was he... were we the only two admitted? Me and Violet’s mother?” She prayed that Matt hadn’t been harmed. She didn’t see him before she was shot.

”Just you two, love. I haven’t heard anything about the man who helped you, but if he’s the same person I’ve heard about, he was long gone when the police arrived.” 

Karen nodded in understanding. It was better this way, and she knew that. But she still had no way to contact Matt, which was disappointing.

She looked by the window and saw a bouquet of flowers as her nurse checked her dressings. She tilted her head in confusion.

“Those flowers are from your friend," she said, pointing to the bouquet, and wrapping a blood pressure cuff around her arm. "He has good taste.”

"Friend?" 

"Mr. Murdock? The handsome blind man. He was incredibly worried about you."

"Mr. Murdock," she said aloud.

She felt the cuff tightening and took a breath at the pain she was experiencing in her other arm. “He was here all night.”

Karen pouted her lips as she heard the past tense. "He's no longer here?"

The nurse chuckled at her disappointment. "I don’t think anything could drag that man away from seeing you. I'll go get him in a minute. He slept in the waiting room, poor doll. Hospital policy is no one sees patients without their consent."

"Oh! I consent!"

"I'd be that excited too. He is adorable." She removed the cuff from her arm and disappeared for several minutes. For a moment, Karen thought she may have forgotten her. Then her door opened and she saw his hand holding a cane, and heard him talking with her nurse. "Thank you, Rosie. Be sure to say goodbye before you leave."   
  
He opened the door the rest of the way and walked over to her as he folded his cane. “Hi beautiful,” he said with a sad smile. He reached up and pushed her hair behind her ear, and she leaned her cheek into his palm.

He put his glasses in his pocket and moved the chair closer to her bed and sat down, reaching for her hand and rubbing it with his fingers. “How do you feel?” 

“I’m ok. I--” Karen groaned as she shifted. She was almost certain she saw his eyes fill with tears. “Really, Matt. I’m fine. If you hadn’t been there, I’d…” she didn’t like to think about it, but she was certain she’d be dead right now if he hadn’t helped.

He sniffled and shook his head. “I’m the reason you… I’m so sorry, Karen. He got away from me for a few seconds and—”

She stared at him in disbelief. “You can’t really believe that was your fault, Matt. I was able to get Violet to a safe place. That’s all that matters.”

He nodded somberly. “I thought I was going to lose you, Karen.” A tear fell from his eye and he used his other hand to wipe it away and then kissed her hand.

“Hey…” Her eyes filled with tears as she saw him crumbling right next to her. “I’m alright, Matt. You weren’t going to… Everything is fine!” Karen squeezed his hand. She wanted nothing more than to be in his arms, but something told her that would be pretty painful in that moment. “I can’t believe you stayed here all night.”

He smiled. “Well, my plans were cut short, so I had the whole night free.”

Karen sighed angrily at what she had missed out on. “Yeah, that really screwed up my night too.” She took a breath and squeezed his hand. “She said the flowers were from you. They’re beautiful, Matt. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I didn’t want you to think you were alone when you woke up. Rosie’s sweet, but she’s a good door guard.”

Karen chuckled. “She likes you. But I must say, you're really bad with this secret identity thing, Matt. You _always_ give the nurses a fake name when you're trying to keep your vigilante secret intact."  
  
"It felt wrong to lie to her," he said, a huge smile plastered across his face.   
  
She chuckled. "She told me you were a guardian angel. I didn't have the heart to tell her you were more like a guardian _devil._ "

He licked his lips. "So you've heard the new nickname?"  
  
"I have. But I'm more intrigued by the name I heard today. Pleased to meet you, Matt Murdock."   



End file.
